


P is for Patience

by thequidditchpitch_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff, Hogwarts Era, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-12
Updated: 2006-06-12
Packaged: 2018-10-26 14:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10788768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequidditchpitch_archivist/pseuds/thequidditchpitch_archivist
Summary: Ginny learns a little patience.  Missing moment from HBP.





	P is for Patience

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

  
Author's notes: Thanks to Beccafran for the beta!  


* * *

P is for Patience  
  
“Argh!” Ginny hit the wet ground with a splat, tumbling gracelessly off her broom and landing in a heap. She looked up to see Harry hovering a few inches above the ground, concern etched upon his face. Ignoring the shiver of excitement the raced up her spine at the look in his eyes, Ginny swore loudly and stood up. She impatiently pushed her hair out of her eyes and bent to retrieve her traitorous broom.  
  
“I’m never going to get this move down and the damn game is tomorrow.”  
  
“You’re doing it too fast. You need to relax,” Harry told her in an exasperatingly calm voice. “Besides, if you don’t get it, it’s not the end of the world.”  
  
Ginny snorted. To hear Harry say a Quidditch match wasn’t the end of the world was like listening to Hermione tell her to skive off classes to go snog a boy in the Astronomy Tower; it just wasn’t done.   
  
“It’s the end of the world as far as Quidditch is concerned, and I want to win. But the only way we can beat Ravenclaw this year is if I get this down.” She huffed and stubbornly sat astride her broom once more. If not the best player on the team, she was easily one of the most experienced, and she would be damned if the other Chasers were able to pull off the complicated maneuver Harry had come up with without a hitch, while she struggled every time she tried. She kicked off into the evening air, ignoring the biting cold that penetrated her muddied robes.  
  
Almost against her will, Ginny’s mind went to her first game played on this pitch, to the first time she knew Harry was in the audience watching her play what was rightly his position. With perfect clarity, she could remember how the wind had tasted of snow, how the air was freezing and exhilarating, how her hands had clenched the wooden handle of her broom until she was white-knuckled. And how, after she’d caught the Snitch, Harry had told her she’d done a good job. And how just that small smile from him had sent her annoyingly faithful heart tripping over itself like she was still ten years old.   
  
Blinking her eyes to clear the vision out from behind them, she aimed her broom down towards the ground, tightening her thighs around the handle and pulling her shoulders back to balance her weight. Even now, when she was able to carry on full conversations with him, and able to act completely like herself around him, a smile from him sent her heart crashing into her stomach. It sickened her. It exhilarated her. It kept one bright seed of hope burning within her, and though she knew she should let it go, it seemed she would be giving up some part of herself if she did. A part she wasn’t prepared to let go.  
  
With a deep breath and a twist of her hands, Ginny steered the broom quickly down towards the earth, ignoring Harry’s warning to go slowly, telling herself she was capable of pulling up at the last minute…unsurprised when she again crashed messily into the ground.   
  
“Damn, stupid broom!” She threw the offending object away from her, glaring angrily at it with her arms crossed before her chest.  
  
Harry flew back over to her and eyed her cautiously. “Maybe we should call it quits,” he said. He met her eyes. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”  
  
She felt heat flood her cheeks. “You don’t think I can do it, do you?”  
  
Harry opened his mouth, closing it again quickly. Meanly, Ginny thought he looked like an unattractive cod. “You can go back up to the castle if you want, Harry, but I’m going to get this tonight. I’ll do without your help.” She scooped up her broom and prepared to mount it as she watched Harry’s feet hit the ground firmly. _Fine_ , she thought. _I’ve been getting along just great without him for this long. I’ll be fine without him now._  
  
“C’m ‘ere, Ginny,” she heard Harry say resolutely from behind her. She turned around to find his eyes trained on her, his hand stretched out before him.   
  
“What?”  
  
“You’re obviously too stubborn to listen to me, so I’m going to have to show you. Come. Here.”  
  
Ginny set her shoulders back and narrowed her eyes, willing her feet to stay planted where they were. Harry stood before her calmly, his eyes never leaving her face, until with a sigh she relented and moved to stand before him.   
  
His hand on her wrist sent unwelcome sensations pinging through her. She watched in almost detached fascination as he mounted her broom, leaving space for what was clearly supposed to be her body. He raised his eyebrows. “You coming?”   
  
With what she hoped was a convincing sigh, and with what she hoped would remain pale cheeks, she sat herself before him, trying desperately to ignore the press of him behind her as he kicked off from the ground.  
  
Once high in the air, Harry aimed the broom towards the ground. He covered her hands with his own on the handle. “Now just go slowly,” he instructed close to her ear. She hoped he didn’t feel the shudder that coursed through her body.   
  
Together, they swooped downwards towards the ground, much more carefully than she had been trying, and with much more control; Harry had let go of her hands and was giving her complete control, reminding her just once more to be careful.   
  
When their feet eventually hit the ground, Harry let out a whoop. “I knew you could do it!” he said enthusiastically. “You just needed to have patience.”  
  
Ginny laughed. She glanced at his smiling face to see a faint blush to his cheeks. His hand was clasped tightly around hers, and his smile could have lit up the evening. With what she knew to be an self-conscious gesture, he ran his free hand through his hair. Ginny laughed again. Maybe all she did need was a little patience.  


End


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